| Record | Pts | Div. Rank | G/G | GA/G | PP% | PK% | |
| Minnesota Wild | (4-3-2) | 10 | 3rd NW | 2.78 (17) | 2.44 (9) | 32.5%(1) |
84.3% (12) |
| Chicago Blackhawks |
(6-5-1) | 13 | 2nd Central | 2.92 (10) | 3.00 (21) | 26.2% (3) | 84.6% (10) |
| Minnesota Wild | |||
| Top 5 Scorers: | G | A | Pts |
| 1. #7 Matt Cullen | 3 | 7 | 10 |
| 2. #9 Mikko Koivu | 3 | 7 | 10 |
| 3. #48 Guillaume Latendresse | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| 4. #8 Brent Burns | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| 5. #20 Antti Miettinen | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| Top 3 Penalty Minutes: | PIM | ||
| 1. #16 Brad Staubitz | 18 | ||
| 2. #9 Mikko Koivu | 12 | ||
| 3. #23 Eric Nystrom | 11 | ||
| Goaltenders: | GAA | SV% | |
| 1. #32 Niklas Backstrom (4-2-2) | 2.09 | .929 | |
| 2. #60 Jose Theodore (0-1-0) | 5.00 | .857 | |
| Chicago Blackhawks |
|||
| Top 5 Scorers: | G | A | Pts |
| 1. #10 Patrick Sharp | 10 | 5 | 15 |
| 2. #81 Marian Hossa | 7 | 4 | 11 |
| 3. #88 Patrick Kane | 3 | 6 | 9 |
| 4. #19 Jonathan Toews | 3 | 6 | 9 |
| 5. #82 Tomas Kopecky | 1 | 7 | 8 |
| Top 3 Penalty Minutes: | PIM | ||
| 1. #4 Niklas Hjalmarsson | 17 | ||
| 2. #82 Tomas Kopecky | 14 | ||
| 3. #28 Jake Dowell | 14 | ||
| Goaltenders: | GAA | SV% | |
| 1. #30 Marty Turco (5-2-1) | 2.82 | .916 | |
| 2. #50 Corey Crawford (1-3-0) | 3.03 | .901 | |
About two weeks ago, the Wild had a terrible effort against the Columbus Blue Jackets and the team was put through a bag practice, a tremendously difficult and physically punishing ordeal that Minnesota forward John Madden called the most intense practice of his NHL career. Madden is not known to exaggerate so we as fans must take his word that it was indeed a miserable experience. The response was a more intense effort that culminated into a 6-2 win over arch-rival Vancouver. A few days later the Wild have another paltry effort against the Los Angeles Kings and this time the coaches opted for an optional skate the next day. A very different approach to poor effort but the result was a focused and intense effort that allowed Minnesota to earn a 2-1 victory over the Washington Capitals who had all of their big guns; Alexander Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green healthy and ready to go. So the big question is, what should we expect Saturday night when the Chicago Blackhawks come to the Xcel Energy Center?
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The Chicago Blackhawks are coming off a strange and frustrating game on Friday where they lost to the young and inexperienced Edmonton Oilers in a back and forth barn-burner, 7-4. There was not a lot of penalties and perhaps the Blackhawks were a little too confident as they found themselves trailing early. The Blackhawks could be a very angry group when they make their way to Xcel Energy Center tomorrow, but perhaps a little tired as well. The Wild would be well advised to use the same aggressive puck pressuring game that they had against the Capitals and force their weary legs to battle all over the ice. The worst thing Minnesota could do is to ease up thinking they’ll be tired and give them plenty of time and space. Patrick Sharp has had an incredible start to the season leading the league with 10 goals already, and there are signs Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane are just starting to heat up offensively. Losing Marian Hossa for at least the next two weeks to an upper body injury hurts a little, but its a minor setback. Needless to say, the Blackhawks still have plenty of firepower that Minnesota will have to be wary of. The Blackhawks defense may have a few new and ‘old’ faces like Jassen Cullimore but they still have a very solid 1st pairing in Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook along with 2nd pair blueliner Niklas Hjalmarsson which are just as well-rounded three defenders as you can find in the NHL. Chicago may be without big bodied checkers in Dustin Byfuglien, Ben Eager and Andrew Ladd but they re-loaded with former University of Wisconsin Badger and Eau Claire-native Jake Dowell who has been playing very well for them as of late, as well as former Maple Leafs prospect Viktor Stalberg to give them some auxillary scoring punch.
Meanwhile, the Wild should be fairly well rested after their solid performance on Thursday and be plenty prepared for another tough challenge but earning two points must be their goal. The Northwest Division by itself has been a little chaotic so far with each team showing the ability to beat anyone and be beaten by anyone meaning its wide open at this point in the season. Minnesota knows all too well about how a bad start can become an obstacle that is simply impossible to overcome after the 2009-10 campaign, and while they are already off to an improved start over last season they want to accumulate as many points as they can on this homestand. While one may wish to think think we haven’t seen enough of this team on the road yet to really tell if its gotten over its struggle to win away from the friendly confines it’s better to win now at home and then hope you can gain some additional points on the road later (knock on wood).
One Wild player whom I am going to be watching extra closely in this game will be Wild winger Martin Havlat. I phoned into NHL Network’s NHL Live program on Friday where I asked the hosts, Billy Jaffe and Don LaGreca about Martin Havlat’s agent, Allan Walsh‘s rant to the Minneapolis Star Tribune that his client is being under utilized and that he deserves more meaningful ice time. I asked the hosts how they feel the Wild should handle those comments, and Billy Jaffe offered a rather fair and calculated answer. Jaffe suggested the Wild will likely have quite a few internal discussions about Havlat’s possible unhappiness with his role on the team, but everything would stay fairly low key and thus keeping this a small deal by not turning it into something bigger than it really is. Smart advice and the probable approach of the Wild coaches and management. Wild General Manager Chuck Fletcher has already made a short and succinct counter statement to Walsh’s salvo by saying the team considers as Walsh does that Havlat is a top level talent in the league and feels that some of the concerns do not take into consideration game situations the team had been facing as of late (i.e. the rather large amount of time spent on the penalty kill which is a unit he does not play on). Either way Fletcher stayed classy and his response was appropriately measured. Do I totally agree that Havlat is a top level talent? Not really. He is not a player; at least I have not seen this with the Wild to be one that can create offense for himself the way a player like Marian Gaborik could. Havlat is dependent on his linemates for most of his scoring opportunities and thus why I don’t see him as a top level talent. But hey, to each their own and one could hardly blame Chuck Fletcher for buttering Walsh’s bread a little bit to get him to back off a bit from making this situation bigger than it is. So in other words, Fletcher and Jaffe are right on the same page on this matter.
Whether or not the Wild are on the same page as they were Thursday night when they discovered just how effective they can be when they give a solid team effort is a whole other story altogether. I know I’m hoping they find that level of cohesion once again.
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